Self-closing safety pin



P 1944- A. E. JORDAN 2,359,115

SELF-CLOS ING SAFETY PIN Filed May 21, 1942 (fl WW Patented Sept. 26, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFlCE SELF-CLOSING SAFETY PIN Amzie a. Jordan, Beloit, Kans.

Application May 21, 1942, Serial No. 443,867

' (Cl. 24 1c1) 9 Claims.

My invention relates to safety pins adapted to hold garments in place upon the wearer, and the principal object of my invention is to provide a self-closing safety pin so that in the event a child or other person should swallow the pin it will pass through the intestinal tract without injury to the person. Or in the event that the pin should become lodged in the throat or stomach it can be easily removed with a proper instrument without injury to the person, as the pointed end of the prong will be covered by the sheath of the safety pin and thereby prevented from catching in the walls of the passage traversed by the pin.

Another object of the invention is to provide a self-closing safety pin in which the urge of the spring which closes the pin is largely overcome when the pin is fully opened so that very little efiort will be required on the part of the user in maintaining the pin in open position while inserting the pin into fabric.

Other objects will hereinafter appear, and in order that the invention may be fully understood reference will now be had to the accompanying drawing, in which- Fig. 1 shows a side elevation of the safety pin.

Fig. 2 is a cross section on line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation partly in section of the safety pin turned in a reverse position to that shown by Fig. l.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation partly in section of the safety pin in open position,

Fig. 5 is a broken-sectional view of a modified form of the safety pin,

Referring in detail to the difierent parts, 2 designates the safety pin as a whole which has a longitudinal body preferably in the form of a bar 4 provided at one end with a housing 6 and at its other end with a sheath 8.

The bar 4 and the housing 6 are of U-cross section and the housing is provided with a curved rear'wall constituting a seat III with cheeks l2 preferably formed integral with and disposed at of the seat I0 is preferably in the form of a true segment of a circle and its free end is bent inward to provide a stop I 3 and a spring M, which latter terminates in a stop It. The opposite sides of the spring H are free from cheeks l2, so that the spring will be free to move from the position shown by Fig. 3 to that shown by Fig. 4.

A prong I8 is pointed at its front end 2|! and curved at its rear end 22 to rockably fit within the seat It so that the prong may be automatically closed, Fig. 3, by spring H, or manually opposite sides of the seat Ill. The major portion opened to the position shown by Fig. 4. The curved portion 22 of the prong is bent inwardly as indicated at 24 and curved as indicated at 26 to partially encircle the spring 14, against the front side of which the end 28 of the prong abuts and holds the spring under tension so that it in turn will normally hold the prong in closed position.

The sheath 3 is of U-cross section to provide side walls 30 and 32, the former of which is bent inward and downward toward the latter to provide a resilient catch 34 for holding the pointed end of the prong after the same has been manually forced through an inlet 36 between the wall 32 and the catch 34. An outlet 38 is formed in the side wall 30 through which the pointed end of the prong is passed preparatory to being manually opened. The wall 32 projects above the companion wall 30 to act as a guard for the pointed end 20 of the prong when in the unfastened positions disclosed by Figs. 1 and 2, so that in the event the pin should be swallowed by a child it may be removed from the throat or stomach without injury to the walls of the passage in which the pin might lodge.

In practice, when the prong i8 is manual opened preparatory to being entered into the material of a garment or other article, its opening movement is checked when the end 28 contacts the stop I6. As the prong is opened it increases the tension of the spring H, but since the end 28 has closely approached a neutral point or dead center indicated in the present instance by the position of stop IS with respect to the vertical line a, Fig. 4, it overcomes to a large extent the urge of the spring 14 to close the prong. Thus very little eflort is required by the user to hold the prong in open position when inserting the same. After insertion of the prong it is closed and secured by manually forcing the pointed end 20 through the inlet 36 and engaging it under the catch 34, see dotted lines, Fig. 2. Obviously the neutral point or dead center may be located in front of or at the rear of line a by changing the proportions of spring l4 and associated parts.

When the prong I8 is to be opened its pointed end 20 is manually released from the catch 34 and passed through the outlet 38, whereupon it may be manually opened until checked by the end 28 contacting the stop I 6, as above described. However, should the attention of the user be distracted and the pin be laid aside and forgotten after the prong has been manually moved through the outlet 38 the prong, which was tensioned when forced beneath catch 34 after being checked by stop I 3, Fig. 3, will automatically move upward and laterally to the full line position, Figs. 1, 2, and 3, where it will be prevented by the side wall 32 from causing injury in the event the pin is swallowed.

In the modified form shown by Fig. 5, most of the parts are similar to those of the preferred form as indicated by corresponding reference numerals with exponents a, the chief dfference being that the spring Ma. and the free end of the curved portion 22a of the prong I811 are bent inward to less extent. In practice the prong i8a on reaching closed position, is checked by its free end 28a contacting the inner surface of stop l6a on the spring Ila, and when the prong is manually opened to the position disclosed by the dotted lines it is checked by contacting the outer surface of the stop lfia.

If desired the springs M, Ma, may be made of individual lengths of spring steel and riveted or otherwise secured to the respective seats 10,

, la, in any approved manner.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the drawing, it is apparent that I have provided a safety pin which is well adapted for the purpose intended, and while I have shown two forms of the pin I reserve all rights to such other forms and modifications thereof as properly fall within the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A self-closing safety pin comprising a bar, a housing at the rear end of said bar provided with a curved seat terminating at its forward portion in an integral spring, a prong rockably mounted at its rear portion in said seat to permit opening and closing of the prong with respect to the bar, said prong having a terminal adapted to press against and tension the spring to effect automatic closing of the prong, and a sheath at the forward end of the bar to receive the front end of the prong when closed.

2. A self-closing safety pin comprising a bar, a housing at the rear end of the bar provided with a. segmental seat bent inward at its forward portion to provide a stop terminating in a spring, the latter having an outwardly bent portion to provide a second stop, and a prong having a segmental rear portion rockable in the seat to permit opening and closing of the safety pin, the segmental part of the prong being rebent at its forward portion for engagement with the rear portion of the first-mentioned stop to check the prong when the safety pin closed, said rebent portion having an extension encompassing a free end of the spring and adapted to contact the second stop to check the prong when the safety 'pin opened, said extension also being adaptedto press against and tension the spring to effect automatic closing of the safety pin.

3. A self-closing safety pin comprising a bar from the axis of the seat. thereby permitting the safety pin to be held in open position with a minimum of effort.

4. A safety pin comprising a bar having a segmental seat, spring means associated with said seat and having a free inwardly extending end, 9. prong havin a curved portion rockable in said seat and a terminal pressing against and tensioning said spring means to normally hold the prong in closed position adjacent to the bar or, when the prong is opened, to progressively diminish effectiveness of the spring means to close the prong by forcing the free end of the spring means outward adjacent a neutral point spaced from the axis of the seat, and a stop on the spring means for checking the terminal of the prong before it reaches said neutral point.

5. A self-closing safety pin comprising a bar having a curved rear seat, a sheath at the front end of said bar comprising two spaced walls united at their lower portions and one of which projects above the other to form a guard, the shorter wall having an opening and a catch which latter is arranged above the former and terminates adjacent the companion wall to leave an intervening inlet, a prong pointed at its front end and curved at its rear end to operably fit within said seat and permit the prong to be manually opened and automatically closed with respect to the bar, spring means at the front portion of the seat pressing against the prong to automatically close the latter, a stop at the Juneture of the seat and the spring means against which the prong is adapted to contact just before its pointed end reaches the inlet, thereby requiring said pointed end to be manually forced through the inlet to engage the catch and tension the prong, so that if manually forced outward through the opening in the shorter wall and then released said pointed end will be automatically returned ot its former position just above the inlet.

6. In a self-closin safety pin, a bar having a curved rear seat terminating in a spring bent at one end to provide a stop, and a prong having a free front end and a curved rear end which latter is rockably mounted in said seat to permit the free end of the prong to move towards or away from the bar, said curved rear portion of the prong having a terminal pressing against the spring to hold the latter under tension and thereby cause it to automatically urge the free end of the prong towards the bar, said terminal being also adapted to contact the stop and thereby check the prong when the free end thereof is manually moved away from the bar.

7. In a safety pin, a prong having a free end and a curved end, respectively, and a body associated with said prong and provided with a curved seat in which the curved end of the prong is rockably mounted to allow the free end of the prong to move towards or away from the body, said seat having an upper portion bent across the path of the upper curved portion of the prong to check the free end of the prong as it closely approaches the body.

8. In a safety pin, a prong having a free end and a curved end, respectively, said curved end having a forward portion rebent inwardly to provide a curved extension terminating near the rebent portion, and a bar having a curved rear end providing a seat in which the curved end of the prong is rockably mounted to permit movement of the free end of the prong towards or away from the bar, the forward part of said seat being rebent inwardly across the path of the rebent portion of the prong to limit movement of the free end of the prong towards the bar, the rebent portion of the seat having an inward extension iebent outwardly into the path of the inner end of the curved extension of the prong to limit movement of the free end of the prong away from the bar.

9. A self-closing safety pin comprising a body, a sheath at one end of said body, a segmental seat at the opposite end of said body, a prong having a free end and a segmental end which latter rockably engages said seat to permit the free end of the prong to engage or disengage the sheath, resilient means connected to the segmental seat, and means associated with the segmental end of the prong for cooperating with said resilient means in automatically eflecting movement of the free end of the prong towards the sheath.

AMZIE E. JORDAN. 

